President Column

Greetings Neighbors!

It hardly seems possible, but August is already here, and before long school buses will once again be rolling through Hickory Farms. As families prepare for the start of another school year, we ask everyone to take a little extra care on our roads. Please watch your speed, be alert for children walking or riding bicycles, and always, always, always come to a complete stop at stop signs. A few extra seconds behind the wheel can make a tremendous difference in keeping our neighborhood safe.

The Board also continues to make progress in our search for a community management company. We have been carefully evaluating several qualified firms, and our goal is to identify the one that best meets the needs of Hickory Farms. Once that process is complete, we'll share more information with the community before moving forward. We appreciate your patience as we work to make the best long-term decision for our neighborhood.

We've also received reports of, and I have personally dealt with, unwanted solicitors going door-to-door. While some solicitors may have the required permits, others often do not. If someone comes to your door and you are not interested, you are never obligated to engage with them. A simple "No, thank you" is enough, and if they refuse to leave, become aggressive, or you believe they are behaving suspiciously, don't hesitate to contact the Fairfax County Police non-emergency line. That number is: 703-691-2131 · TTY 711. As always, if you ever feel threatened or believe a crime is occurring, call 911 immediately.

Finally, I'd like to once again encourage anyone interested in becoming more involved in our community to consider volunteering. Whether it's serving on a committee, helping with a neighborhood event, or contributing your skills in another way, volunteers are what make Hickory Farms a great place to live. Fresh ideas and new perspectives are always welcome, and we'd love to have you join us.

Enjoy the remainder of your summer, stay safe, and best wishes to all of our students, parents, and teachers for a successful school year ahead.

Steve Kubrak
HFCA President

Community Emergency - Possible Dues Increase by 50%

Background

We hope the title of this article has grabbed your attention! We need your help.

We are privileged to live in a wonderful neighborhood. We just celebrated our 50th anniversary. Hickory Farms was developed in three phases in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

• Phase I (1975, with occupancy in late 1976) was Farm House Lane, Still Meadow Road and Cotton Farm Road west of thecreek;
• Phase II was Cotton Farm Road east of the creek, Harvester Farm Lane and Tumbleweed Court; and finally,
• Phase III, started in 1981, which consisted of Country Squire Lane and Wheatfield Court.

Volunteers

Since the beginning of Hickory Farms, the management of our neighborhood has been performed entirely by volunteers. We have been blessed with the service of a number of residents who have dedicated their time and skills that have made Hickory Farms one of the most desirable communities in Fairfax County. Our volunteers receive no compensation for their efforts, just the rewards of contributing to a beautiful, desirable and organized community. Having some fun along the way, and meeting and working with neighbors.

Our volunteers are organized into three groups, 1) our Board of Directors, 2) our Officers and 3) our other Valued Volunteers. Currently the following individuals serve us in these roles:

Board of Directors

• President - Steven Kubrak
• Secretary - Clair Hill
• Treasurer - Judy Deng
• Vice President - VACANT

Officers

• Common Areas Committee - Chair Melissa Stark
• Acting Architectural Control Committee - Chair Bob Sottile
• Assistant Treasurer - VACANT
• Newsletter Editor - Kiera Stark
• Social Committee Chair - Laura Bucher & Juliette Giordano
• Webmaster - Bryan Crabtree
• Community Yard Sale Coordinator - Pete Scala

Valued Volunteers

• Neighborhood Watch Coordinator - Allie Shaw & Steve Kubrak
• Architectural Control Committee - Bob Sottile, Keith Furguson, Donna Garfield, Ed Kiechlin, Josef Gasimov & Louis Eswood
• Common Areas Committee - Bob & Judy Cosgriff, Rich Dudley, Larry Rogers, Melissa & Jarrett Stark
• Welcome Wagon Committee - Dan Cook & Raleigh Onks
• Listserv - David Tropiano

A full description of these positions is located on our website: https://hickoryfarms.org/board-of-directors

The Dilemma

Recently, it has become more difficult to find volunteers as homeowners who have volunteered have moved from our neighborhood or have been unable to continue to serve. In fact, filling our current President position took over 2 years, before Steve Kubrak graciously volunteered to volunteer as Hickory Farms President.

As noted above, we currently have the following open positions – one Board Position and one Officer Position:

• Vice President – HAS BEEN OPEN SINCE OCTOBER 2025
• Assistant Treasurer – HAS BEEN OPEN SINCE OCTOBER 2025

Additionally, we will need to fill the following positions by the beginning of 2027 as our current President, Steve Kubrak, and our current Secretary, Clair Hill, can no longer serve us beyond 2026.

• President – OPEN JANUARY 1, 2027
• Secretary – OPEN JANUARY 1, 2027

Management Companies

Given this dilemma, the Board of Directors needed to explore the possibility of engaging a management company to perform some or all of the duties historically performed by our neighbor volunteers. As in any organization, when faced with a problem, all potential solutions must be explored.

In the meantime, our common areas need to be maintained, our annual dues must be billed and collected, vendor contracts must be negotiated, vendor invoices verified and paid, income taxes must be calculated and filed, budgets need to be prepared, bank accounts need to be reconciled, homeowner improvements must be analyzed and approved or modified to be approved, community documentation needs to be provided to future residents and the fee collected, our website maintained, etc. All of these activities have to be performed or managed by our reduced number of volunteers. This has become increasingly difficult.

If volunteers do not surface, a third party will need to be engaged to perform these essential services.

In short, if the open positions now and pending open positions are not filled, we will have no choice.

The Dues Impact – Outsourcing

Over the past several months, your Board of Directors has solicited proposals from management companies. We reached out to a number of organizations. Notably, a few management companies did not propose due to the size of our community - 198 homes were insufficient.

• Our dues for 2026 were $300.
• The two management companies that provided the most robust proposals quoted the pricing below.
• If we must engage a third-party; OUR ANNUAL DUES WOULD INCREASE BY BETWEEN 36%-48%

Now for the results. As we all know, our dues are billed annually and determined by the Board of Directors as part of the annual budgeting process.

Dues Analysis	Per Year
Current Dues	$300
Number of Homes	198
Annual Dues	$59,400
Proposal #1
Cost per Month	$1,800
Per Year	$21,600
Additional Cost per Home	$109
New Annual Dues	$409
Dues Increase	36%
Proposal #2
Cost per Month	$2,400
Cost per Year	$28,800
Additional Cost per Home	$145
New Annual Dues	$445
Dues Increase	48%

Our Next Steps

We have been listing our open positions in our monthly newsletter for several months. Additionally, as noted above, soon we will need a new Hickory Farms President and Secretary. We hope that outlining this dilemma and the potential impact on our annual dues will uncover some NEW VOLUNTEERS!

In the meantime, we plan on having the two management companies present to the Board of Directors late summer early fall to obtain more details about their services.

We will need to proceed with hiring a management company unless we can get the appropriate number of volunteers.

Respectfully,
The Hickory Farms Board of Directors

If you’re interested in serving your community or would like more information about these roles, please visit
hickoryfarms.org/board-of-directors and reach out to the HFCA Board at hfca@hickoryfarms.org.

HFCA Rules & Regulations - Location of Sanitary Containers Reminder

To keep our neighborhood looking its best and prevent critters from getting into the trash, please remember the HFCA Rules & Regulations guidelines (Sec. 1.13) for sanitary containers:

• When to set out your sanitary containers:
  Place your garbage and yard debris cans at the curb either the evening before scheduled pick up or the morning of collection day.
   
• When to bring back:
  Empty containers must be removed from the street side and stored away on the collection day.
   
• Where to store:
  Keep bins stowed behind the front line of your house (not forward of the house) between collection days.

New Mailbox Group Buy Interest

The Hickory Farms Strategic Planning Committee is exploring a group buy for residents interested in upgrading their curb appeal with a new mailbox designed to match our new entrance signs. Please see the design prototype below.

If you are interested or would like more details, please email commonareas@hickoryfarms.org.

The Birds of Hickory Farms

By Bob Cosgriff

After a two-month hiatus, in which Hickory Farms endured two intense heat domes, there is good news to report. As of the 25 July submission deadline, 33 bluebirds have fledged, which ties 2021 as our second-highest total. While that is the good news, we also lost 16 bluebird eggs. I suspect the early July heat dome contributed to eight of the failures, as was the case last year. Eight more suffered from unknown predation as all the eggs were gone from the nests, whereas the other boxes contained their unsuccessful eggs well after the hatch date. There is more good news: we are seeing a third round of egg-laying. To date, we have 10 eggs between two boxes, with an estimated hatch date of 6-9 August and fledging date of 24-27 August. One box has 6 eggs in it. This is an unusually high number anytime, let alone in a third cycle when a typical clutch is three eggs. This nest already had three eggs in it, laid in mid- June, so they should have hatched around the 4th of July, but didn’t. We suspect the first heat dome made it too difficult for the parents to keep the eggs at the proper incubation temperature. We left the eggs in the box and were therefore surprised on 25 August to see three more eggs in the nest. It is likely that the parent birds realized that the earlier clutch was non-viable so they tried again. We expect to see three hatchlings in early August. This is a unique situation, so stay tuned for an update.

As for Tree Swallows, for the first time in many years, we had nests in two different boxes. One box was successful, with four fledglings, whereas the other was unsuccessful. For some reason, that box (with five eggs) was abandoned by the adult birds. This occurred before the July 4th heat dome, so the most likely explanation is that something happened to one (or both) of the parents. Of interest, the successful tree swallow nests was in a box which had already produced bluebird fledglings. After the swallows fledged, bluebirds returned to the box and built over the swallow nest. However, they did not lay any eggs in that nest so we won’t have a third round in that box.

For the second straight year, we had no House Wren nests. We moved the box that usually hosted the wrens from near the swimming pool area and paired it with a bluebird box in the upper commons. Often tree swallows and bluebirds will nest in close proximity to each other, providing mutual support to chase off sparrows, so we will run that experiment next year.

Our Purple Martins are in the heart of the breeding season. We have counted up to 18 adult birds flying about the upper commons at one time, which would indicate nine breeding pairs. We will learn the actual number when we lower the array in the fall to clean the boxes. In any case, our colony is now well-established. Martins produce only one brood per year. As this year’s hatchlings begin to fledge and learn how to fly and hunt insects, we should see greater numbers of martins until they head south in late August into early September.

We have not seen any new species in our yard (or around the neighborhood) so we will have to wait for the fall migration to add to our 2026 yard total of 41 species.

Sooner than we would like, school will be back in session, the pool will close, and we will get ready for cooler weather—and the start of the fall migration. More on that next month. Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer. Keep a lookout for hummingbirds and goldfinches, two of the most prevalent late-summer birds of Hickory Farms.

Approved ACC Applications - June/July 2026

Property	Modification	Appoval Date
4324 Still Meadow	Expand and convert carport into twocar garage and replace siding	Jun 26, 2026
9998 Cotton Farm	Replace roof	Jul 14, 2026

Save the Date: Block Party

Join us for the Hickory Farms Block Party on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the Upper Commons for an afternoon of lunch, music, a bouncy house, cornhole, and an ice cream truck at 2:00 PM—come catch up with neighbors and friends, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Solicitors in Our Neighborhood: A Reminder on Safety and Respect

Recently, our neighborhood experienced an incident involving a solicitor who ignored several neighbors' posted "No Soliciting" signs and refused repeated requests to leave private property. While most interactions with solicitors are uneventful, this incident serves as a reminder of how to handle these situations safely.

Neighborhood Guidelines

1. Respect "No Soliciting" signs. Residents who post these signs have made their wishes clear. Solicitors should not approach these homes.
    
2. You are not obligated to answer the door. If you choose to engage, a simple "No thank you" is sufficient.
    
3. If someone refuses to leave your property, remain calm. Do not argue or escalate the situation. Clearly state that they are on private property and that you are requesting they leave.
    
4. Document the interaction if it is safe to do so. Security cameras or video doorbells can provide valuable documentation if needed.
    
5. Contact law enforcement if necessary. If someone refuses to leave after being asked, becomes aggressive, or behaves in a threatening or harassing manner, feel free to call the police. After a request to leave the premises is made, any refusal to do so is trespassing. Trespassing and disorderly behavior should be handled by law enforcement, not residents.
    
6. Notify neighbors when appropriate. Sharing factual information through appropriate neighborhood communication channels can help others remain aware while avoiding speculation or confrontation.

Our community is strongest when we look out for one another. We encourage everyone to remain courteous, prioritize personal safety, and report concerning behavior to the appropriate authorities and neighborhood watch at neighborhoodwatch@hickoryfarms.org. Thank you to the neighbors who responded appropriately and helped ensure the situation was resolved safely.

Bus Stop Arm Cameras: Warning and Citations to Continue

Source: https://www.fcps.edu/news/school-bus-safety-program-update

Cameras were installed on the stop arms of 50 FCPS school buses. The cameras will be used to identify drivers who pass stopped school buses while children are entering and exiting the bus. This is referred to as a “stop arm violation”.

Violators will receive warnings. After a 30-day warning period, citations will be issued.

According to Virginia law, drivers must stop for stopped school buses with flashing red lights on and their stop signs extended. Motorists should stop when approaching from any direction, unless there is a barrier or median separating their lane from where the bus is stopped. Motorists should remain stopped until everyone is clear, and the bus is moving.